Phase I Assessments

Readings:
Hess Environmental Site Assessment Chps 3 thru 8

http://www.envirotools.org/factsheets.shtml
Look at the factsheets under assessment, several short things related to Phase I, II, Baseline. The Environmental Site assessment is a nice overview and has a very nice reference list.
ASTM standard 1527, 1528 (on reserve)

Now the above seems like a lot of reading, but what you need to do is skim. The Hess book goes into great detail on how to do this, which is primarily a compendium of what type of information you need.. What you need to know and what we will be doing for our project is finding out where to get this stuff. A lot of the other stuff is background, like what is on a map etc.

Why do a Phase I assessment?
What laws govern this process?
What is Brownfields?
What types of activities have occurred in Texas?

Hess lists six steps in doing an EA. What are these?

In order to set a price and scope for the work, what information do you require?
How much does one of these assessments cost?
What do you look for on an initial site visit? Why do one?

What is needed for an evaluation of the environmental setting?
Where do you find the following?
Topographic maps
Aerial photos-current and historic
Geologic maps
Info on aquifers, wells, floodplains, abandoned wells
Oil and Gas wells, activities

What do you need to do a search of the federal and state databases? Why are you searching these databases? What is the locational accuracy of these databases?
How do you find historic usage info?
How do you find out what the neighbors are doing?
What is FOIA? What kinds of info might be covered under this ?

What do you look for in a detailed site investigation?
Who do you interview? How do you approach this?